Department store David Jones was one of the best performers among the top 200 companies, adding 15 cents, or 5.5 per cent, to $2.87 after quarterly sales rose by 2.1 per cent.

"It is a very positive sign in the lead up to the Christmas period," Ms Lee said.

Macquarie Group was another company to post strong gains, adding $2.235, or 4.4 per cent, to $53.185 after its half year profit rose by nearly 40 per cent to $501 million and its dividend was increased.

Macquarie also said it would distribute $1.4 billion worth of shares in Sydney Airport to its shareholders.

"The big thing that the market's been watching today is the Macquarie result, and in particular the distribution of the Sydney airport stapled securities," Ms Lee said.

The banks were mixed, with National Australia Bank up 27 cents to $35.58, Westpac up 28 cents to $34.57, but Commonwealth Bank was down 35 cents to $75.73 and ANZ was down seven cents to $33.77.

In resources, BHP Billiton was down 13 cents to $37.53, Rio Tinto had dropped 43 cents to $63.56 and Fortescue was 7.5 cents weaker at $5.135.

KEY FACTS

* At 12.15pm AEDT today, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 7.1 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 5418.4

* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 7.9 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 5412.4.